In 2026, the Offender Register reported that an Afghan asylum seeker, Abdul Barkeeh Salihi, who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl while she was sightseeing in London during the Harry Potter era has been released from court after paying a £400 fine.
When the girl and her family visited Leadenhall Market in the City of London to observe the filming location for Diagon Alley, Abdul Barkeeh Salihi, 24, a 24-year-old resident of a now-closed Oxford asylum hotel, molested the girl’s buttocks.
Earlier that day, Salihi had slapped the bottom of a 42-year-old woman after following her for a brief distance along nearby Lombard Street.
Salihi was confronted by the girl’s family at the Rocca restaurant in Leadenhall Market following the sexual assault on the girl. The confrontation culminated in Salihi throwing a chair through a window.
Salihi, an Afghan national, provided the address of a hotel in Oxford that has been housing asylum claimants to the Inner London Crown Court.
Last week, he was sentenced to a £400 fine and a £160 victim surcharge after admitting to two counts of criminal damage and sexual assault.
Additionally, Salihi will be included in the sex offenders registry for the subsequent five years.
According to the police, Salihi committed the initial sexual assault at approximately 3:30 p.m. on January 28, 2017, while a woman was travelling along the road in the rain, attempting to seek refuge near the buildings.
Salihi emerged from Mansion House and pursued the woman, approaching her closely until she turned and enquired whether he needed to pass.
According to the police, Salihi initially shook his head before slapping the woman’s buttocks a few moments later.
The girl, who was sightseeing with her family, felt a grope on her bottom later that day. She turned to see Salihi, who had a “weird smirk on his face.”
The family visited the Rocca Italian restaurant, where they observed Salihi enter the premises. This prompted a confrontation in which he was forced toward the counter and accused of sexual assault.
According to the police, he initially declined to depart when requested by the restaurant staff, and subsequently appeared “agitated” while sitting outside.
The police stated that Salihi picked up a chair and hurled it through a window.
“He retrieved a second ball and threw it, but this time it struck the glass.”
“Until the police arrived, he was detained by members of the public.”
On July 13, Judge Ian Darling sentenced Salihi to two counts of criminal damage and sexual assault.
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